Spectral
by DigitalEmperor001
Summary: When Jaune Arc forged his transcripts, he fully expected to be found out. If he wasn't, then he expected to learn how to fight Grimm. Killing zombies, hunting werewolves, and exorcising ghosts? That, he didn't expect.


**I'm late, I'm late, for a very important date! Seriously though, I didn't expect for my day to be this busy. I promised to have this story up on Friday, so here it is! Even if it's technically Saturday. Crap.**

So _maybe_ Jaune Arc made a mistake.

The blonde haired young man moved around uncomfortably as he adjusted his sword to yet another new position. Crocea Mors. The family weapon passed down from his great-great-grandfather after the Great War. It was the only thing that his father gave him when he was accepted into Beacon.

Well, okay, accepted was a slight exaggeration. It was more... accepted under false pretenses. And by that he meant… he forged his transcripts. And he was now headed to Beacon Academy, where the best and brightest were trained.

And while Jaune had little to no training, he knew that he had one thing. The drive to succeed! Plus, it was a combat school! A place, as the name suggests, that teaches combat. He was sure that once they saw just how dedicated he was, no one would question whether he belonged.

Jaune's voice echoed in his head in an almost mechanical monotone. ( _Chances of success: 15%. Chances of being caught: 85%. Chances of going to prison for fraud once caught: 50%. Chances of being heavily fined for fraud: 49%. Chances of being let off with a warning: 1%.)_

Oh yeah, and then there's the voice in his head. Thoughts that sounded like his own but were most definitely not.

 _Forget about that, focus on something else._

Turns out, it was his Semblance. Hyper Observation. It showed up only a day after he had his Aura unlocked by his sister Olivia during his farewell party. While it may not have been the ability to shoot lasers or to summon an army of dinosaurs, it was still cool to be able to see the world with a fresh pair of eyes. It was almost like he was a detective or something.

( _The little girl behind you is picking her nose again. Now she's eating it. She seems to be enjoying herself._ )

Jaune soon discovered that his Semblance came with a major downside. It observed _everything_. He now knew just how many specks of dirt and grime there was on the train's ceiling. Exactly which people decided to skip out on showers and/or deodorant today. And yes, just how much a little girl was enjoying her booger.

And it didn't stop there. One of the "benefits" of Hyper Observation is Total Recall. Jaune could now remember everything from his past. Answers to tests and homework; all the details from the comic books that he read; how many times a girl rejected him; every time his sisters lied about taking his clothes and replacing it with dresses. Everything.

Seriously, if it brought up just how often his parents felt like getting "romantic", Jaune was going to scream.

( _Arrival time estimation: 20 more minutes._ )

Well, at least it was good for keeping track of time. Who knows, if this whole Huntsman thing doesn't work out, he would be a kick-ass secretary.

\- Spectral -

Arriving in Vale always stunned Jaune. Even at night, the city was a beautiful remarkable sight. Grand skyscrapers were plainly seen in the distance from the train station, and the nightlife was streaming around in a chaotic sea.

Pulling out a scrap of paper with some directions, Jaune walked towards the hotel that he was supposed to be staying at.

 _I don't suppose you know where the "Hollowed Rest" would be?_

( _You have never been there nor heard of it before. Perhaps asking around for some help would be beneficial_.)

 _You'd think dad would have included some directions or something when he booked a room_.

Sighing, he walked up to a random person to ask for some help. After a few minutes, an older woman was able to tell him where this place was.

It was a small building, big enough for at least four to six medium-sized rooms. ( _Cracks and wear indicate that this place is not receiving enough care.)_

 _It looks fine, stop being picky. The age just gives it… character._

He stepped through the wooden doors, each creaking as Jaune passed through them. The lobby was small but cozy. Spotting a woman at the reception desk, he walked up to greet her.

"Hello," he said cheerfully. "I have a room reserved for one, it should be under Nicholas Arc."

Tapping on her computer, the lady asked Jaune for some identification, after which she passed him a form that he filled out with ease.

"Your room is going to be number 6, here's your key. Try not to make any noise past ten and don't bother the other residents. I hope that you enjoy your stay at the Hallowed Rest."

Walking up the stairs, Jaune past a few rooms before ending up at his own. Opening the door, he was greeted with a cozy room. It was simple, with wooden flooring, a medium sized bed placed in the middle of the room, a T.V., and a small bathroom.

After taking a shower and putting on some sleeping wear, Jaune went to the bed.

 _Tomorrow huh? I wonder what the odds are that I can pull this off._

 _(Statistically speaking, this will be the most demanding thing that you have ever taken on. You will most likely be found out by the teachers and, at best, you will be kicked out. At worst, you will be arrested and thrown in jail or, most likely, prison.)_

 _Wow. What a terrific way to motivate me to do my best. Love it._

 _(If you succeed, however, you will be one step closer to reaching your goal of becoming a hero.)_

 _And nothing worth achieving was ever easy, huh? Oh well. We'll just have to see tomorrow._

-Spectral-

Running. It was what she was good at. Whether from her family or from Adam, Blake was always running.

 _A flash of red eyes. A whisper. An instinctive flash of fear._

Blake gasped as she shot up from her bed, sweating.

Although this time, it appeared as if she couldn't run away from her problem.

Steadying her shaking hands, she curled up to rest her face on her arms.

"Calm down," she whispered to herself. "It was only a nightmare."

 _Breathe in. Hold. Let it go._

She managed to relax after a few more breaths. This was starting to become troublesome. The nightmare had been repeating for the past few days, though she could never remember what exactly happens. All Blake knew was the vague flashes that ran through her head every morning.

She had chalked it up to stress. Leaving the White Fang, leaving Adam, had not been easy. It was a situation that had left her with many sleepless nights filled with worry.

But in the end, she had made her choice. A new future was waiting for her at Beacon. She would be able to leave her past behind and perhaps gain some redemption in the process.

So why did she still feel uneasy?

-Spectral-

Beacon Academy is a school for Huntsmen and Huntresses to learn how to combat the Grimm and other threats to humanity. It was the best of the best, and it only trained those who proved themselves worthy.

But Beacon held many secrets. Some were from the students, from those whose past would rather be forgotten to those who had an embarrassing moment that they didn't want to get out.

Some were well known, and others were mere speculations. Most, however, were harmless.

But Beacon held other types of secrets too. Sinister secrets. Dangerous secrets. Secrets that, if found out, could change the very fabric of reality as we know it.

Beneath Beacon, one of those secrets laid motionless in a talk. The girl could have been mistaken for dead, if not for the small breaths that went unheard over the sound of the machines surrounding her.

But below even her, lied another secret. One known only by the Headmaster of Beacon itself.

On a stone pedestal, wrapped in chains connected to the walls and ceiling, lied a box. The only source of light came from the box, dimly glowing red despite the vast amount of chains holding it down tight. And with each passing moment, the box pulsed, awaiting the day that it would once again be opened.

 **Okay, I'm doing this. A complete rework of the original story that I had planned. For those who don't know, I created a story where Jaune became a detective and joined with Beacon as a student. The idea** _ **seemed**_ **cool, but it quickly fizzled out. If I kept it as a one-shot, then maybe it could have worked, but I was a bit more ambitious than I should have been. It was quickly turning into a Gary Stu story where Jaune is invincible and couldn't be touched, and I really hated that. So, I decided to go with this one instead.**

 **Not to worry, however, because this time it will be different. I have a plan for this story! And I'm even going to try to keep to a decent schedule, time/work permitting. I know that I'm rather infamous for disappearing for a while, but I'm honestly going to try to make this work.**

 **And hey, if you enjoyed what you read, then please don't be afraid to follow this story. I'd also like to ask you to review if you have any constructive criticism, questions, or comments.**

 **For those who do review, I ask that you don't use the guest function. It makes it impossible for me to get back to you in a timely fashion, and I can't reply until the next chapter update. And as I said before, I'm bad at that.**

 **It also makes it annoying when people tell me something that they didn't like because I did something wrong when they themselves have the wrong information. Seriously, this one guy asked why I and every other "idiot" writer on this site make Jaune have motion sickness. That was the polite version, mind you. Did… did that person never actually watch RWBY or something?**


End file.
